The pastoral romance gave him the opportunity for a very complex comparison between the worlds of Art and Nature; and the tragicomic form enabled him to concentrate the whole story of apparent disaster, penitence, and forgiveness into one happy, misfortune controlled by a divine Art.

This comprehensive quality of the play, while giving it its prominence, has also made it possible for comparisons to be made between it and many of Shakespeare's preceding plays. It has been compared to Hamlet, Macbeth, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear and many others. However, for the purposes of this paper I will look at the similarities between The Tempest and King Lear as they concern the central themes and the relation of the main characters to the world around them.

James P. Driscoll in his essay abou

The Salem temples, the great globe itself,

And so in The Tempest Prospero, by transcending the bounds identity imposes through a mesastance of ego-free consciousness is able to attain a comedic vision of self and the universe. While at King Lear's tragic end, Lear dies without being able to move beyond a "Promethean stance."

The gift that "mesastance" bestows is one of a detachment steadfast enough to permit acknowledging the possibility of unavoidable defeat and unredeemable sorrows without such acknowledgement paralyzing the will to act. In his speech to Ferdinand Prospero demonstrates that he has achieved "mesastance" and thus the ability to accept life for what it is when he assures Ferdinand:

Lear, realizing that he was gaining in age and would probably not live much longer, tried to maintain his perceived external power through the manipulation of his daughters. This act demonstrates how "fear of death ignites the drive for arbitrary power."(Bloom, 97) Prospero dramatizes preparedness for death as he breaks his staff and symbolically renounces power for faith. Prospero has used his magic arts to influence the spirits or gods and thus gain the power Lear so vainly sought in prayers and curses. Thus we see how King Lear illustrates the tragedy in the quest for power while The Tempest illustrates how to gain power.

Driscoll explains that "because Ferdinand has not achieved a "mesastance" to change, time, and tragedy, he is easily dismayed at the dissolution of the pageant and distracted by grief at the loss of his father. As he moves from the dissolution of the masque to that of the actors in the play of life who will melt into sleep, Prospero teaches that art, the world, and identity are as ephemeral as the stuff of dreams."(Bloom, 89)

t The Tempest pointed out that "King Lear and The Tempest display several important similarities. Betrayal and preparation for death constitute central themes in both plays; evil is radical and incorrigible in each; and each focuses on the nature of ideal identity"(Bloom, 85)-- whether to be a contemplative and open-minded man who understands that the world is not his to control or one who vainly tries to control his world. Driscoll also pointed out the major differences be

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Approximate Word count = 1512
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)